{"product_id":"flea-honora","title":"FLEA - HONORA","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a nearly five-decade (and counting) career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists\u003cstrong\u003e, Flea\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ereleases his first full-length solo album,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHonora,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eMarch 27, 2026, on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNonesuch Records\u003c\/strong\u003e. Time and space have finally allowed him to return to his first musical loves: jazz and playing the trumpet. The album track “\u003cstrong\u003eTraffic Lights,\u003c\/strong\u003e” co-written with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThom Yorke and Josh Johnson\u003c\/strong\u003e, is available to stream now. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFor\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHonora,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich takes its name from a beloved family member, Flea composed and arranged the music, and also plays trumpet and bass throughout, joined by an elite crew of modern jazz visionaries: album producer and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003esaxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe record features vocals from Flea, as well as friends\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThom Yorke and Nick Cave. Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) and Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes),\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eamong others, also join the band. The album comprises six original songs–including one co-written by Flea, Johnson, and Yorke–as well as interpretations of tunes by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeorge Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e “Deantoni and I played what became ‘\u003cstrong\u003eTraffic Lights’\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe first day. Something about it reminded me of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAtoms for Peace\u003c\/strong\u003e, so I sent it to Thom. Just knowing him, I thought it would be a rhythm and a sensibility that he would relate to. And I was right, he did. With a gorgeous melody and the words, you know, about living in the ‘upside down’ and how do you make sense of things when we’re getting all this fake shit and real shit? Everyone has their ways of dealing with the world. But he’s just the warmest, free flowing, jamming motherf*cker.” -Flea\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBest known as a founding member and bassist for the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRed Hot Chili Peppers,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eFlea was first introduced to live jazz as a child, when family friends played the music together in his own living room. “\u003cem\u003eIt was the greatest thing I ever saw,”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehe recalls. “\u003cem\u003eThe wildness, warmth and we of it. Straight Bebop. Boom. I knew there were higher things on this earth, way above the pettiness that had left me disheartened. The holy trifecta of my life, music, sports and nature was complete.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThough he dreamed of being like his heroes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Clifford Brown\u003c\/strong\u003e, Flea’s path went a different direction: His close friend\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHillel Slovak\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003easked him to pick up the bass and join his rock band when he was sixteen, leading Flea into a decades-long career with the hugely successful Chili Peppers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut late one night in 1991, in the midst of that band’s ascent, Flea was acting in the now-classic\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGus Van Sant film My Own Private Idaho\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ewhen he shared with a friend, “\u003cem\u003eI want to make an instrumental record with deep hypnotic grooves, trippy melodies layered on top, meditations on a groove.”\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eThe caveat was that he first needed to get his trumpet-playing together. As Flea neared his sixtieth birthday, he realized if he did not pick up the trumpet again, he probably never would. So he resolved to practice every day for two years–in the midst of a stadium tour with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRed Hot Chili Peppers,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewith a wife and newborn at home. At the end of those two years, he would make an album, regardless of where his knowledge or talents ended up.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eUntil\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHonora,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eFlea had never been scared of making music before. He worried that the all-star band he had assembled would think he was “\u003cem\u003ea non-playing motherf*cker, charlatan, rock poseur or fan.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eBut, he says, “\u003cem\u003eIt turns out they were all the most genuinely supportive people, moving me deeply and daily with their generous spirits…Sitting in a room and playing the music with them made me feel like I was on drugs. I was buzzing, tripping and floating around the studio. I love them, they truly gave of themselves. I bow all the way down.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2LP | Standard Black Vinyl \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGolden Wingship\u003cbr\u003eA Plea\u003cbr\u003eTraffic Lights\u003cbr\u003eFrailed\u003cbr\u003eMorning Cry\u003cbr\u003eMaggot Brain\u003cbr\u003eWichita Lineman\u003cbr\u003eThinkin Bout You\u003cbr\u003eWillow Weep for Me\u003cbr\u003eFree As I Want to Be\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Volcanic Vinyl","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53448058896684,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0759\/3947\/9852\/files\/Flea_-_Honora_CD.webp?v=1784343108","url":"https:\/\/volcanicvinyl.co.nz\/products\/flea-honora","provider":"Volcanic Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}